By Ejiro Nesisa
The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has dismissed an appeal filed by some Itsekiri stakeholders seeking to stop the fresh delineation of electoral wards and polling units in Warri Federal Constituency, thereby clearing the way for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to continue implementation of the Supreme Court judgment on the matter.
The appellate court also affirmed the N4 million cost earlier awarded against the appellants. The appeal, marked CA/ABJ/CV/1457/2025: Hon. Appearance Afejuku & Ors v. INEC & Ors, was filed by Itsekiri youth leader, Hon. Appearance Afejuku, alongside three others. The appellants had challenged the enforcement of the Supreme Court judgment delivered on December 2, 2022, which ordered a fresh delineation of wards and polling units in Warri Federal Constituency.
Delivering judgment on Friday, May 15, 2026, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal led by Justice Uchechukwu Onyemenam dismissed the appeal for lacking merit and upheld the earlier decision of the Federal High Court, Abuja. The appellate court held that the issue of Warri delineation had already been conclusively settled by the Supreme Court in suit SC/413/2016: Hon. George U. Timinimi & 9 Ors v. INEC.
The judgment reaffirmed the July 1, 2025 ruling of Justice Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which described the suit as a gross abuse of court process and lacking in merit. Counsel representing INEC, as well as Ijaw and Urhobo interests in the matter, had argued that the Supreme Court judgment must be implemented ahead of future elections in the oil-rich Warri Federal Constituency.
Meanwhile, in a related development, the Federal High Court sitting in Warri also dismissed another suit filed by some Itsekiri plaintiffs challenging INEC’s interim report on the delineation exercise released on May 3, 2025. In the suit marked FHC/WR/CS/37/2025: Ejeyi Philip & Ors v. INEC, the plaintiffs contended that the Itsekiri ethnic nationality was not consulted before the delineation exercise was carried out.
However, the court ruled that the Supreme Court judgment did not mandate INEC to consult any ethnic group before carrying out the delineation exercise. The court further held that the suit was premature, noting that the interim report issued by INEC was only a proposal and not a final document.
The latest court decisions are expected to further intensify political discussions across Delta State, where the delineation exercise has remained a sensitive issue among the Ijaw, Itsekiri and Urhobo ethnic nationalities over representation and electoral balance in Warri Federal Constituency.